“Fishing in the evening, plein air, 7.15.22, Friday, 7-8pm”, 22 x 30”, watercolor on paper, 2022.
Biography
David Orrin Smith (1986 - ) has been drawing and painting his entire life. His development was encouraged by mentorship under artists Gary Faigin and Tony Ryder. In 1999, at age 13, David was admitted to adult life drawing sessions at the Seattle Academy of Fine Art (now Gage) under Gary, a formative experience and establishing figure work as a fixture in his creative production. From 2004-2008 he continued his art study at Dartmouth College as well as pursuing his own professional art practice beyond the classroom. From 2008-2011, while getting his Master’s at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, he kept up a rigorous practice of art making, specifically explorations in figure, landscape, combining these interests in an optional Masters’ Thesis project on landscape design for the somatic (embodied) senses. From 2011 to 2024, he has been working in portraiture, figure, and landscape, including living in Philadelphia from 2012-2014, Charlottesville VA in 2015, Boston in 2015, the UK in 2018, back to Seattle in 2019. In 2021 he spent six months painting oil portraits and still life in Santa Fe, returning to Seattle in fall of 2021 to his home city, focusing on plein air watercolor landscapes, graphite portraiture, and a variety of other media, subject and scale. His work has won numerous awards and recognitions and can be found in museums, galleries, commercial and private collections.
CV
David Orrin Smith, Born 1986, Seattle
Address: 7317 24th Ave NW, Seattle, WA, 98117
Email: David@DavidOSmithArtist.com
Website: DavidOSmithArtist.com
Education
Harvard University Graduate School of Design, https://www.gsd.harvard.edu, Cambridge, MA
- 2008-2011, Master’s in Landscape Architecture, (MFA Equivalent, Terminal Design Degree), Optional
Independent Thesis: “The Body In Landscape: Landscape Design for the Somatic Senses”
Dartmouth College, https://home.dartmouth.edu, Hanover, NH
- 2004-2008, Cum Laude, BA in Italian with Optional Honors Thesis
Residencies / Festivals
2024 (upcoming)
ArtX Flagstaff, Flagstaff, AZ, https://artxideas.org/, May 17-26
Plein Air Easton, Easton, MD, https://pleinaireaston.com, July 12-21
R.A.R.O. Barcelona, Spain, https://www.esrarobarcelona.com/residency-barcelona, Oct 21-Nov 29
Awards / Recognitions
2024
1st Place Juror’s Prize, Tubac Center for the Arts, Tubac, AZ, “Arizona Aqueous XXXVIII” Group Exhibition
2023
1st Place, Colorado Watercolor Society, Denver, CO, “CWS Member Show” Group Exhibition
1st Place, Rhode Island Watercolor Society, Pawtucket, RI, “Falling Into Winter” Group Exhibition
1st Place, Watermedia, Josephy Center for Arts and Culture, Joseph, OR, “41st Annual Wallowa Valley
Festival of the Arts” Group Exhibition
1st Place, San Diego Watercolor Society, San Diego, CA, “Plein Air” Group Exhibition
1st Place Juror’s Prize, Northwind Art, Port Townsend, WA, “Weather or Not, Plein Air Show” Group
Exhibition
1st Place, Rhode Island Watercolor Society, Pawtucket, RI, “Amazing Space” Group Exhibition
1st Place Landscape, Gage Academy of Art, Seattle, WA, “The Best of Gage” Group Exhibition
Peter Hopper Award for Excellence, Northstar Watermedia Society, Hudson, WI, “National Watermedia
Juried Competition”, Group Exhibition
Special Recognition, Southwestern Watercolor Society, Dallas, TX, “60th annual Membership
Exhibition”, Group Exhibition
Honorable Mention, Brownsville Museum of Fine Art, Brownsville, TX, “48th International Art Show”
Group Exhibition
Exhibitions
2023
Tubac Center of the Arts, Tubac, AZ, “2024 Arizona Aqueous XXXVIII” Group Exhibition
Gallery B612, Seattle, WA, “Animal Art Show” Group Exhibition
Colorado Watercolor Society, Denver, CO, “CWS Member Show” Group Exhibition (Award: 1st Place)
Rhode Island Watercolor Society, Pawtucket, RI, “Falling Into Winter” Group Exhibition (Award: 1st
Place)
Wright State University, Dayton, OH, “Drawing from Perception, Invention, Memory” Group Exhibition
Blue Line Arts, Roseville, CA, “Natural Elements” Group Exhibition
Rhode Island Watercolor Society, Pawtucket, RI, “Follow the Light” Group Exhibition
Woodinville Arts Alliance, Woodinville, WA, “Molbaks Sip n Stroll” Group Exhibition
Jones Gallery, Kansas City, MO, “November Group Show” Group Exhibition
Fayetteville State University Rosenthal Gallery and Ellington-White Contemporary, Fayetteville, NC,
“2023 National Drawing Competition” Group Exhibition
Fontbonne University, St Louis, MO, “Figurative Works” Group Exhibition
Arts Benicia, Benicia, CA, “Properties of Water” Group Exhibition
Art League Rhode Island, Pawtucket, RI, “Art in Motion: Exploring Movement in Art” Group Exhibition
Life in the West Art Gallery, Broomfield, CO, “Lands and Lifestyles: Art of the West” Group Exhibition
East End Arts, Riverhead, NY, “Where is the Human?” Group Exhibition
Rhode Island Watercolor Society, Pawtucket, RI, “Complementary Colors” Group Exhibition
Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA, “Interstate: Where I-90 meets I-82” Group Exhibition
MVA Gallery, Bethlehem, PA, “The Drama of Light and Shadow” Group Exhibition
Mark Arts Center, Wichita, KS, “National Watercolor Exhibition” Group Exhibition
Five Points Arts, Torrington, CT, “Five Points Small Works” Group Exhibition
SHAPE Gallery, Shippensburg, PA, “Listening to Water” Group Exhibition
Brownsville Museum of Fine Art, Brownsville, TX, “48th International Art Show” Group Exhibition
(Award: Honorable Mention)
Athens Arts, Crawfordsville, IN, “Untitled 3, A Juried Exhibition” Group Exhibition
University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, “National Juried Painting Competition” Group
Exhibition
San Fernando Valley Arts and Cultural Center, Encino, CA, “Human Form and Figure” Group Exhibition
Jones Gallery, Kansas City, MO, “September Group Show” Group Exhibition
Colorado Watercolor Society, Denver, CO, “32nd Annual CWS State Watercolor Show” Group Exhibition
MVA Gallery, Bethlehem, PA, “The Grandeur of Color 2023” Group Exhibition
Lake Granbury Art Association, Granbury, TX, “The Fall Art Show 2023” Group Exhibition
Josephy Center for Arts and Culture, Joseph, OR, “41st Annual Wallowa Valley Festival of the Arts”
Group Exhibition (Award: 1st Place, Watermedia)
The Center for Contemporary Arts, Abilene, TX, “7th Annual National Juried Art Competition” Group
Exhibition
San Diego Watercolor Society, San Diego, CA, “Plein Air” Group Exhibition (Award: 1st Place)
AuSable Artisan Village, Grayling, MI, “Great Northern Art Explosion” Group Exhibition
Rhode Island Watercolor Society, Pawtucket, RI, “Dramatic Skies” Group Exhibition
Sage Community Arts, Sheridan, WY, “13th Annual National Juried Show” Group Exhibition
Marin Society of Artists, San Rafael, CA, “All About Women 2023” Group Exhibition
Gallery B612, Seattle, WA, “Summer In Seattle” Group Exhibition
Cincinnati Art Club, Cincinnati, OH, “Viewpoint 55” Group Exhibition
Northwind Art, Port Townsend, WA, “Weather or Not, Plein Air Show” Group Exhibition (Award: 1st
Place Juror’s Prize)
Rhode Island Watercolor Society, Pawtucket, RI, “Amazing Space” Group Exhibition (Award: 1st Place)
The Firefly Artists, Northport, NY, “Works on Paper” Group Exhibition
Northwest Watercolor Society, Seattle, WA, “83rd International Open” Group Exhibition
Indiana University Kokomo, Kokomo IN, “Time Constraint” Group Exhibition
Gallery 510, Decatur, IL, “October National” Group Exhibition
Northstar Watermedia Society, Hudson, WI, “National Watermedia Juried Competition” Group
Exhibition (Award: Peter Hopper Award for Excellence)
Southwestern Watercolor Society, Dallas, TX, “60th annual Membership Exhibition” Group Exhibition
(Award: Special Recognition)
MVA Gallery, Bethlehem, PA, “Landscape Serene and Savage” Group Exhibition
Gage Academy of Art, Seattle, WA, “The Best of Gage” Group Exhibition (Award: 1st Place, Landscape)
2022
Annie’s Art and Frame, Seattle, WA, “The Seattle Landscape” Solo Exhibition
2021
Private Residence, Seattle, WA, “Art Party 2021” Group Exhibition
2020
Gage Academy of Art, https://www.gageacademy.org, Seattle, WA, “Seattle Landscape” Group
Exhibition
2019
Gage Academy of Art, https://www.gageacademy.org, Seattle, WA, Group Exhibition
Bottlehouse, https://bottlehouseseattle.com, Seattle, WA, Solo Exhibition
Teaching
Teaching - Dartmouth College - https://home.dartmouth.edu, Hanover, NH
- Summer 2021, Guest Lecturer for online/in-person Drawing I Class with Professor and artist Soo
Sunny Park
- Summer 2020, Teaching Assistant for online Drawing I Class with Professor and artist Soo Sunny Park,
helping students and Professor Park run classes, gave lectures, ran in-class drawing and painting
demonstrations
Teaching - Gage Academy of Art - https://www.gageacademy.org, Seattle, WA
- Fall 2020, Leading Virtual Open Studio online Figure Drawing
- Spring 2020, Teaching Assistant for Barbara Fugate’s Online sketchbook class
- Winter 2020, Teaching Assistant for Barbara Fugate’s Figure Drawing class
- Winter 2020, Teaching Assistant for Tom Hoffmann’s Advanced Watercolor class
- Winter 2020, Leading Open Studio figure drawing
- Fall 2019, Teaching Assistant for Barbara Fugate’s Portrait Drawing class
- Fall 2019, Teaching Assistant for Tom Hoffmann’s Advanced Watercolor class
- Fall 2019, Leading Open Studio figure drawing
Teaching - Independent - DavidOSmithArtist.com - Seattle, WA
- Summer 2020, Completion of portrait demo online video, “Michael J. Smith”, 29-video series of
complete process of Long Format (5-day) Portrait Drawing in Graphite, with live instructional
narration
- 2011-present, Individual Drawing / painting private instruction, working with clients in-person and
virtually
Lectures - Independent - Seattle, WA
- Summer 2021, for Dartmouth College Alumni, Virtual Artist’s Talk / Discussion, “Drawing and
Painting from Life: A Visual Arts Career based on Human Relationships in the Age of Digital
Estrangement”
- Winter 2019, Event Organizer / Tour Guide / Lecturer for Seattle Art Museum Exhibit “Flesh and
Blood: Italian Masterpieces from the Capodimonte Museum”, for Dartmouth College Alumni
Selected Professional Publications / Exhibitions / Commissions / Projects
Lakeside Magazine - https://www.lakesideschool.org/about-us/lakeside-magazine, Seattle, WA
- Ongoing commissioned work, 2019-present, biannually (Awards: 2023 Gold Medal, Circle of Excellence
Awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, Independent and International
School Alumni Magazines, 2023 Finalist, Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year)
Chairish, Inc - https://www.chairish.com, San Francisco, CA
- Spring 2021-present, recruited to be part of the Chairish Print Shop based on sales of original work,
Reproduction Print work Commissioned and Completed to Spec
Windermere Real Estate, https://windermerecup.withwre.com, Seattle, WA
- Spring 2019, Design and Exhibition of Commissioned Windermere Cup Poster painting
George Pocock Rowing Foundation, https://www.pocockfoundation.org, Seattle, WA
- Fall 2017-Winter 2018, Commissioned project “Kenmore Boathouse Project”, series of conceptual
illustrations, drawings, studies, architectural renderings, paintings for proposed Community
Boathouse for Kenmore, made reality in May 2021
The Head of the Charles, https://www.hocr.org, Cambridge, MA
- Spring 2015, Commissioned work for publication, Bridge Drawings and Charles River Course Map for
book “The Head Of The Charles: First 50” by John Powers
Virginia Rowing Association, https://aig.alumni.virginia.edu/virginiarowing/, Charlottesville, VA
- Winter / Spring 2015, Conceptual Design and Build of Boathouse Land Training Room
Charles River Conservancy, https://thecharles.org, Cambridge, MA
- Summer 2011, Commissioned Watercolor Renderings for Bridge Underpass Project
Independent - DavidOSmithArtist.com, Seattle, WA
- Fall 2018-present, Running full-time art business
- Fall 2021, Completion of Mockup Two for Lafcadio Project, 174-pg graphic novel adaptation of
Lafcadio Hearn’s “The Dream Of A Summer Day”
- Summer 2020, Commissioned watercolor work “Memories of Rowing With Dartmouth Lightweight
Crew”
- Fall 2019, Commissioned watercolor work “Netmen”
- January 2019, Commissioned watercolor portrait works “Portraits of Cathy Strombom (1-4)”
- Fall 2018, Commissioned logo work for Rainier Beach Institute, https://
rainierbeachinstitute.weebly.com
- Spring 2015, Commissioned watercolor portrait work “The Dulings”
Professional Development / Additional Education
The Ryder Studio, http://www.theryderstudio.com, Santa Fe, NM
- Summer 2021, Invited to join Figure and Portrait Drawing Workshops, Tuition-Free
- Spring 2021, Full-time 6-week Still-Life Oil Painting Atelier Program
- Winter 2021, Full-time 6-week Portrait Oil Painting Atelier Program
Gage Academy of Art, https://www.gageacademy.org, Seattle, WA
- December 2019, Tony Ryder Figure and Portrait Drawing Workshops
- December 2018, Tony Ryder Figure and Portrait Drawing Workshops
- 2002-2003, Tony Ryder Figure and Portrait Drawing Workshops
- 1999, Admitted at age 13 into adult figure drawing classes